Ladder brace



April 15, O R 2,419,065 I LADDER BRACIF;

Filed Feb. 1, 1946 Z Q224- vmw/w' i'izi H TTOR/ E) Patented Apr. 15, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application February 1, 1946, Serial No. 644,910-

6 Claims.

This. invention relates to ladders, it being one object of the invention to provide a ladder having means associated with it which will serve very effectively to prevent the lower end of the ladder from slipping when placed against a wall for use and causing injury to a person standing upon the ladder when the ladder falls.

Another object of the invention is to provide a ladder having ground engaging bars at opposite sides of its lower end so mounted that they may be swung from a folded position against outer faces of side rails of the ladder to a lowered position in which they project rearwardly from the ladder for gripping engagement with the ground. Another object of the invention is to provide a ladder with bars which have their lower end portions reinforced to prevent splitting and these lower end portions of the bars provided with pins which are movable into and out of position for securing the bars in an extended position for use, the bars when released and moved to a folded position being disposed close against outer side faces of the side rails of the ladder where they will be out of the way.

Another object of the invention is to provide a ladder with ground engaging bars having at their free ends cleats for grippin the ground and preventing likelihood of the lower end of the ladder slipping outwardly away from a wall against which the ladder is placed in position for use.

Another object of the invention is to so form the cleats that they will be prevented from moving transversely out 'of their proper position along the bars, the cleats being shiftable longitudinally of the bars to adjusted positions allowing teeth at ends of the cleats to have good gripping engagement with the ground.

Another object of the invention is to provide bars or props so formed that they may be readily applied to a ladder of conventional formation.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the lower portion of a ladder having the improved bars applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view showing the improved bar partially in side elevation and partially in section.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a cleat mounted at the free end of a bar.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the front end portion of a bar and the bracket by means of which it is held to a side rail of a ladder.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

The ladder I to which the improved bars have been shown applied is of conventional formation and has the usual side rails 2 and steps 3. A bar 4 is provided for each side rail and may be of any length desired. The forward or lower end of each bar is reinforced. by a shoe 5 formed from a strip of iron or other strong metal. This, strip is bent midway itsv length to form a U-shaped shoe which straddles the bar and has its arms disposed in fiat face to face engagement. with side faces of. the bar where they are. secured by a suitable number of fasteners ii which. may be rivets, bolts,v or the like. Aligned openings. 1 are. formed in the arms of the shoe and these openings register with a larger opening 8 formed through the bar as shown in Figure 5'. The. bar and arms of the shoe are also formed with aligned openings 9 and Ill near the front end of the bar, through which a bolt. I'll passes and acts, as a pivot for the arm.

In order to pivotally mount. the bars each side rail of the ladder carriesv a metal bracket ll having ears I2 at opposite sides of its. upper end and lower end for engaging edge. faces of the side rail of the ladder. At its lower end each bracket carries an ear it which is spaced outwardly from the bracket. The ears are formedfrom metal strips which are bent so that each ear has. a foot L is, the foot being secured. to. the bracket by rivets.

i5. Screws l6 are. passed through the ears [2V to. secure them firmly against edge faces of the ladder rails. and there have also been provided rivets it for holding the upper end of the. bracket close against the side rail of the ladder. Anv opening I! is provided at the upper end of each bracket between the rivets It. An ear l8 formed by the rear portion of each bracket projects rearwardly from the rail to which the bracket. is secured. and these ears l8 are formed with openings l9 with which the openings 1 in the inner arms. of the shoes 5. register when the bars are swung downwardly to the lowered or extended position for use. It will thus be seen that the bars may be disposed longitudinally of the side rails of the ladder when not in use but may be swung down.- wardly into position for extending rearwardly from the ladder at such an incline that their rear ends will engage the ground upon which the ladder rests.

In order to hold the bars in adjusted positions each carries a pin 2.!) which passes through the aligned openings l and 8. and has its outer end formed with a head 22 constituting afi-nger hold by means of. which the pin may be grasped and shifted longitudinally. A disk' 24. is mounted about each pin 2!] within the opening or socket 8 and is engaged by a helical spring which yieldably holds the pin in the extended position in which the inner end portion of the pin projects from the inner side of. the bar. By grasping the ring or finger hold 22 at the outer end of the pin it may be drawn to a retracted position and the bar swung from its raised position to a lowered position for use. When the bar is in the raised position the pin 28 engages in the opening ll and holds the bar raised and when the bar is swung downwardly the pin engages in the opening 19 and holds the bar in position for use. Since the bar is secured in the-lowered position it can not move upwardly and the lower end of the ladder will be braced and held against transverse tilting.

The bars should have firm gripping engagement with the ground in order to prevent the lower end of the ladder from slipping away from a wall against which the upper end of the ladder rests. In order to do so the bars carry cleats 26 which are formed of metal and have side fianges 2'! for engaging opposite side faces of the bars. A slot 28 is formed longitudinally of each cleat for receiving a bolt 29 by means of which the cleat is held to the bar and when the nut of the bolt is loosened the cleat may be shifted longitudinally of the bar to adjusted positions and the tooth 30 at the rear end of the cleat disposed in position for biting contact with the ground. When the teeth of the cleats are embedded in the ground the bars will be held against forward movement and the ladder will be very effectively held against slipping.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In combination with a ladder having side rails and steps between the side rails, means for preventing the ladder from slipping comprising brackets carried by the side rails of the ladder and having portions projecting rearwardly therefrom and formed with openings, ears spaced outwardly from said brackets and having shoulders at their lower ends and depending feet secured to the brackets, bars having front end portions fitting between the brackets and the ears, U-shaped shoes straddling the front end portions of said bars longitudinally thereof with their arms en gaging inner and outer side faces of the bars, the arms of said shoes being formed with aligned openings and eachv bar being formed with a pocket between the openings of its shoe pins slidably passing through the openings of the shoes and the pockets of the bars and having heads at their outer ends, springs about the pins within the pockets, disks carried bythe pins within the pockets and engaged by the springs to urge inner ends of the pins from the bars to position for engaging through openings of the brackets and hold to bars in a rearwardl extending position for engagement of their rear ends with the ground, thebars being tiltable upwardly to a folded position against side rails of the ladder when the pins are withdrawn from the openings in the brackets, cleats having side flanges and having rear ends formed with ground-engaging teeth, and bolts passing vertically through the bars and slots of said cleats and mounting the cleats for adjustment longitudinally of the bars.

2. In combination with a ladder having side rails and steps, means for preventing the ladder from slipping com-prising brackets carried by lower portions of the rails, ears carried b said brackets and spaced therefrom, said brackets having portions projecting rearwardly from the rails and formed with openings, bars having forward ends fitting between the ears and side brackets, shoes for front end portions of said bars, pins passing through the front end portions of the bars and through the brackets and their ears and mounting the bars for swinging movement from a folded position to a lowered ground engaging position rearwardly of the rails, pins slidably passing through said bars transversely thereof and having finger holds at their outer ends, springs yieldably holding said pins in a normal position with their inner ends projecting from the bar for engaging through openings of the brackets to secure the bars in a lowered position, and ground-engaging cleats carried by rear ends of said bars.

3. In combination with a ladder having side rails and steps, brackets carried bythe side rails and provided with sockets, ears spaced outwardly from said bracket, ground-engaging bars having front ends fitting between the brackets and their ears and pivotally mounted for swinging movement of the bars to raised and lowered positions, reinforcing shoes for the pivoted end portions of said bars formed with openings aligned with large openings in the bars, pinsslidably passing through the aligned openings and springs fitting about the pins within openings of the bars and yieldably holding the pins in a normal position with their inner ends projecting from the bars in position to engage in the sockets and hold the bars in their lowered position.

4. In combination with a ladder having side rails and steps, brackets carried by the side rails and provided with sockets, ears spaced outwardly from said bracket, ground-engaging bars having front ends fitting between the brackets and their ears and pivotally mounted for swinging movement of the bars to raised and lowered positions, pins slidably passing through said bars transversely thereof and having finger holds at their outer ends, and springs yieldably holding the pins in a normal position with their inner ends projecting from the bars in position to engage in the sockets of the brackets and hold the bars in a lowered position.

5. In combination with a ladder having side rails and steps, brackets carried by the side rails and provided with sockets, ears spaced outwardly from said side rails, ground engaging bars having front ends fitting between the brackets and their ears and pivotally mounted for swinging movement of the bars to raised and lowered positions, pins carried by said bars for engaging in the sockets and releasably holding the bars in the lowered position and ground-engaging cleats carried by said bars. v p

6. In combination with a ladder having side rails and steps, brackets carried by side rails, bars pivoted to said brackets for swinging movement to raised and lowered positions, means for releasably securing the bars lowered, cleats extending along under faces of rear end portions of said bars and formed with longitudinal slots, side flanges of said cleats engaging side faces of the bars, said cleats having" depending'teeth at their rear ends, and bolts passing through the bars and the slots of said cleats to secure the cleats in adjusted positions onthe bars.

VICTORM. FOWLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 302 Great Britain Jan. 6, 1908 14,108 Great Britain June 16, 1909 341,396 France -i June 8,1904 369,381 Italian Mar. 18, 1939 

